Oh, My Aching Bones!

I am 65. Everyone knows that except me sometimes.

This morning I tackled one of the major jobs in the job jar: tiling the en-suite bathroom floor. It has been sitting in the job jar for years and last year we actually bought the tiles. The job got pushed back until it was too late to do it before we left for Mexico.

The existing floor covering is carpet, thanks to a previous owner. Can you imagine anything more disgusting than carpet in a bathroom? Yuk! Norma is the only one to use that room and she is much "tidier" than me so that is the only reason it has not been done sooner.

Today I removed the toilet and vanity and ripped up the old carpet. It actually was not as bad as I thought it might be. The carpet was a little rotten under the toilet but there was no sign of long term water damage. The tack strip around the outside of the room was the worst job. It is impossible to remove that stuff without damaging your hands and I again proved that. My hands are bleeding, I ripped a sock on a nail that I failed to pull and I tore my jeans on another. Par for the course.

I cut out the concrete board to fit the room and tomorrow I buy some thin set to lay it with. Then I will dry lay the tiles and make all the necessary cuts. Several years ago we bought a cheap $100 wet tile saw. Most people rent them when they need them but I figured if I used it more than three or four days I was ahead and I certainly have done that. The next day Norma will lay the tiles. She has more patience to get them "just right" than I do. I would be good at laying them the "Mexican way". Down there none of the tile floors are perfect. Tiles are not exactly square, edges are chipped, colors vary slightly tile to tile and grout lines are not perfect but the end result is beautiful! Here, everything has to be perfect and a buyer will walk in and say, "this grout line is 1/32 of an inch wider than the rest. We will have to re-do the floor". I do not have the patience for it.

The next project is to tile the main bathroom. But not before a few days rest. I am good at resting!